Nejisaku drabbles
by Yusagi
Summary: A collection of Nejisaku themed drabbles, ranging from G to M (Character deaths and etc included)
1. Chapter 1

Theirs was a sensible joint mission: a medic and a sensor both with great physical prowess and the ability to evade almost all blows for a fortress full of an army that could kill with one blow.

The objective was simple: find and retrieve a precious scroll in one piece at any cost, and don't get hurt in the process. Really, they did quite well. Most people wouldn't even _believe _the story they could tell about their adventure, including some extraordinary efforts of teamwork.

They made it all the way out of the castle without a scratch, and even to the treeline, before one of them—she can't remember who now—stumbled on an uneven choice of footing, exhausted from the extraordinary mission, and Sakura found herself propelled by a rope-trap up into a tree.

It was an easy thing to cut the rope and drop down, of course, it was just…in the process of flailing and jerking up there, her arm must have caught a shiruken lodged in the tree. It was the shallowest of cuts, but…the toxin needed nothing more.

She couldn't know for sure if it was one of theirs, however, so she kept it to herself until her hand went numb grabbing a tree branch and she suddenly plummeted toward the ground.

Rather than impact the ground, she felt a rush of air and something…cushion her? Maybe. It was hard to say, actually, because—she couldn't really _feel _the side of her body that she'd cut anymore, but…

She blinked up at Neji. It seemed like he was saying something—scolding her or lecturing her most likely—but the roaring of the blood in her own ears drowned him out.

"There was…a shiruken. I wasn't sure if it was ours but—" She laughed. "It was…probably one I dodged instead of deflecting, actually. Justice. Anyway—come on…" She managed to get to her feet with only half of her body obeying her, but immediately collapsed once more.

Those were definitely his arms around her this time, and she…didn't mind leaning into him. He was always surprisingly strong for his size. His hair smelled of blood and sweat and dirt, but she didn't mind pillowing her cheek against it anyway.

It was all sort of vague, so why not?

"Mm. For once it's…not your fault, I guess…" Not much longer now, not without the antidote…but they'd given up their only vial. They couldn't possibly make it to a new source in time.

He knew it as well as she did. He was a genius, after all.

She smiled then, warmly as ever, though she could no longer even be sure he looked in her direction now. A few more moments were all she had, probably. Thus why they'd been chosen. Thus why she should have been more careful.

Maybe it all really _was_ her fault in the end. She probably should tell him that while she still had the chance. He should know. It seemed right.

Definitely.

"Neji…_thank you._"


	2. Chapter 2

She halted mid-step when she looked up and saw him laying in her bed. _Him_. In her _little _bed that lacked all the excessive room of his. Him in her _room_.

_What_?

She dropped her backpack and stared at him for a few moments, before she squinted at him, mentally checking for signs of bizarre genjutsu.

"…You're not naked under there, are you?"

Just checking. She wouldn't want to yank off the covers without knowing ahead of time.


	3. Chapter 3

Just about every part of her ached. Yesterday had been rough—even if it'd ended on a…more positive note. Anyway, between the two of them, she'd have expected _him _to be awake first. Clearly, he'd lied about how much the battles in the afternoon had taken out of him, and remained much more exhausted than her.

She frowned thoughtfully down at him, hair strewn across his face—obscuring the curse-mark as if obeying a sleeping command of his—and the bed around him. Asleep, when they weren't fighting or dancing to someone's tune, he looked…more like Hinata described him: peaceful, gentle…and so much more fragile than he let on. When he was in motion, taking on what a small army could on his own, protecting another small army alongside himself, snapping orders and witty comebacks…he seemed as physically invincible as he was verbally undefeatable.

Of course, she knew he could be conquered verbally, she'd seen his veneer crack, caught him off-guard and heard his voice crack when he stuttered. Sitting here watching him sleep, studying the curves she'd gotten so familiar with the night before…she could see all of his physical fragility as well.

She would _never_ tell him—wouldn't bother even if she _wanted_ to—but a part of her feared the day she would see him push himself so hard he cracked. That was one moment of weakness she had no interest in drawing out of her enemy.

After a few moments, she reached out and brushed his hair away from his face, frowning down at him more closely, attempting to memorize his uncharacteristically peaceful expression.

She reached out and touched the center of his curse mark with the tip of her finger, and his hand snapped up to snag her wrist—quick enough that she barely saw the movement.

Silver-violet eyes watched her expectantly, an annoying lack of grogginess in them.

She smiled brightly and tilted her head to the side, quickly dispersing all of her previous thoughts before he could try to _discern _them. "I win." Because obviously the one who woke up first after a night like the one before was the winner.


	4. Chapter 4

He'd gotten himself hurt on a mission today and…if she were honest about it, it was her fault. He'd interceded and shielded her from an attack she'd missed, and he'd gotten himself hurt in the process (though not from the attack he blocked—rather from his own opponent).

He wasn't grievously wounded by that, but he'd ended up in the hospital due to an accumulation of other wounds anyway. She, of course, had volunteered to be one of the medics who helped heal him, and thus she now stood over his bed while he slept, checking on his condition.

He'd be perfectly healthy by morning. Good. That eased up some of the guilt, at least. Still, she hadn't had the chance to thank him. Smiling faintly, she leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead—avoiding the seal placed there—in a quick gesture of gratitude.

He was terrible at receiving thanks. Avoiding the awkwardness was probably a thank-you in itself. She just…wanted to express _something_.

So, that would do. _A thank you kiss for luck_.


	5. Chapter 5

By this point, he probably shouldn't be surprised. In this case, Tsunade had lost a bet (to an unspecified party) and as payment she'd have to either kiss Neji or the village would pay more than they could afford.

It was complete crock, and Sakura suspected 'someone' was 'Mitarashi', but it was a command from the Lady Hokage, and she couldn't prove the conspiracy. Besides, it wouldn't be the _first _time they'd been forced to do worse for flimsier excuses. At least this wasn't an actual _command jutsu_.

She sighed when she approached him and gave him a tired look..and approximately two seconds to prepare himself before she grabbed him by his collar and jerked him down into a kiss.

Sooner or later they might actually get _good _at this with all the practice they kept having foisted on them.

The question was…once she let him go, did she bother to explain herself, or just let him assume the obvious?


	6. Chapter 6

She didn't know the details, but Team Gai had run into trouble on their last mission, and although a success, they were all significantly worse-for-wear. Neji had the worst of it, and had been rushed in for intensive healing when he'd arrived. She'd missed all of it, not having returned from a mission to the Land of Wind, and so by the time she returned he was already resting in a hospital bed, stable but not yet conscious.

It was late, and the rest of his team had gone home for the night…but…having missed his return, she felt obligated to go over his conditions and injuries herself.

Of course, Shizune and the others had done _brilliantly_. Still, he probably wouldn't mind company as long as he was asleep, would he? It was the least she could do, having missed—

_If he'd…_

She pressed her lips together into a line, suppressing a wave of hopeless frustration. Of course he hadn't. There wasn't any use worrying over things that hadn't—and _wouldn't_—happen.

She lifted the hand nearest to her, turning it palm upward. His fingertips were scratched and bruised, and a fresh bandage wrapped around his palm. Weren't his chakra techniques meant to keep anything from touching his hands directly? What had they gone up against?

She traced a fingertip over the wrappings idly, and then summoned up healing chakra to fix what scratches and bruises were left on his hand by the (thoroughly exhausted and chakra-depleted) medics.

Her lips quirked up into a faint smile._ Better_, at least.

On an impulse she pressed a soft kiss to each of his fingers in turn, before she set his hand back down. "Next time I'll break them, you reckless_ idiot_."


	7. Chapter 7

He seemed to be reading something. A scroll of some sort? Nothing official that she knew about, at least. Therefore, not a mission and therefore she wasn't obligated to leave him to read.

She smiled and linked her arms around his shoulders from behind. He gave a small huff of acknowledgment but made no other reaction. Sometimes she wondered if his Byakugan gave him 360 degree vision even when it _wasn't _activated.

She pressed her lips to his neck as she read the scroll—a chapter of Konoha history—and then, on a sudden impulse, _nipped _him there.

At least _that_ got a jump out of him.


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up with a fuzzy memory of the night before and a headache isn't really uncommon after a hokage-hosted party. There were certain exceptions to underage shinobi drinking—chiefly weddings, funerals, and 'official business'. A certain hokage often exercised that loophole when she felt the need to cheer the village.

Ordinarily, of course, it's expected for said shinobi to be moderated in their consumption of the alcohol even then, considering the purposes for the exceptions…but as the apprentice of the hokage, there was certain amount of merriment and drinking expected from Sakura…and thus it wasn't uncommon to wake up with a vague recollection of the night before and a mild hangover.

The hangover was, at least, easy to cure with chakra. The presence of another chakra in her bed was…less so, until she actually woke herself enough to process which bed she was in and allow memories of the night before to resurface.

…Ah, yes. Right. She glanced over at the sleeping Hyuga next to her and bit her lip to restrain her smile. She doubted he'd enjoy being woken to excess excitement. Rather, she simply leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Thoughtful little pervert."


	9. Chapter 9

She'd pretty much grasped Neji was a rebel who tended to do the opposite of what his family would expect or want of him around the time he almost murdered his cousin in the Chuunin Exams. She was, however, under the impression that he'd mellowed out, not found creative ways to get worse and fly under the radar.

NOT THAT INVITING HER TO A FAMILY DINNER AND TRYING TO DO THAT WAS IN ANY WAY SUBTLE!

She wasn't actually sure whether girls used to this sort of thing, or really experienced undercover shinobi might react differently, play things off or even get some weird thrill out of it…but…

…No, she wasn't any of those things.

Basically as soon as something bumped her inner thigh and she got an idea of what he might _possibly _be doing not involving finding whatever he pretended to drop under the table (Or hey maybe he was really looking for…no. No. She didn't think he was) she squeaked loudly enough to have shrieked and sat up straight in her chair, pressing her legs together with just enough warning that he could avoid losing anything vital, and gripped her thighs.

"You know what. _I think I'm done eating!_"


	10. Chapter 10

It's _not a kiss_. It doesn't count as a kiss. It will never count as a kiss and she will scream that from the mountaintops for the rest of her life if necessary.

It's like…swimming CPR. She's stuck underwater and has been, trying to get the seals off her wrists so she can swim free and not drown, and…not doing it quickly enough. Neji happened to find her in time, and given he didn't know any oxygen jutsus, he shared air via mouth-to-mouth contact, so she could stay away long enough for him to get her out and them to surface.

That's all it was. _That's all_.

He did have really soft lips for a taijutsu user, though.


	11. Chapter 11

She didn't spend much time thinking about the details of the Hyuga genius' personal life or habits. Even if she did, though, she never would have pictured him as such a heavy sleeper. He seemed much more of the sort to wake with a pin-drop.

The latter would be far more useful in this circumstance.

"_Oi_!" She kicked the edge of the bed, rather than him. "Your cousin is looking for you, you should get up!"


	12. Chapter 12

A lot of things can happen in a taijutsu spar. A good, experienced shinobi knows to anticipate those things and react accordingly. Part of the practice is actually to make sure a shinobi doesn't react badly should it or something like it happen in a real fight.

She still didn't expect that tripping him while he flung her to the ground would cause him to _kiss _her.

Okay, so she anticipated changing her trajectory into the wall which was way more workable. And technically he didn't…kiss her as much as…mash his lips into hers and cut her lip on her tooth…

But she's not sure if that doesn't count, because she _definitely _felt his lips on hers and they were…surprisingly very soft and smooth for someone with such calloused hands.

"E-_eh_?"


	13. Chapter 13

_"Neji is dead"_

The air in her lungs rushed out at once as if by impact, and she…stood there rather pointlessly, scroll she'd been decoding a moment ago hanging uselessly from one hand.

She…couldn't…

"D-don't…don't _lie_." Because, despite the sudden ache in her chest, despite that telltale prickling in her eyes—the sort he _so hated_—it _couldn't be true_.

It couldn't.


	14. Chapter 14

_"Neji lives"_

Two words she'd truly never thought she'd hear ever again? _Neji lives_. Even when she did, they didn't sound _real_. She had to have imagined them, it had to be a cruel joke or a mistake, _it wasn't_—

She couldn't…

It wasn't _fair _to make that sort of a joke, because…she _absolutely couldn't bear that kind of hope_.

But—but even when she waited they made no such indication, there was no smile or smirk, nothing to imply it was anything but the truth…and from Lady Tsunade…she couldn't have been lying to her. Not about this. _Not about him_.

Her fingers pressed to her lips, and her legs simply ceased to support her weight. She didn't really feel the crash of the ground against her knees, and she didn't really care. _Why should she even care at all_?

She'd been silent and still. She'd boxed everything away, suppressed the grief and pain like a true shinobi should, and pressed onward like he'd never left, like he never was. She faced the sunlight alone, and resisted the urge to chase hopelessly after him into the night, because that was what a good shinobi such as herself would do.

Yet…

_now_…

Painful sobs wrenched from her throat, ane she buried her face in her hands as if they could muffle or disguise the sound of it. The wave of relief was too strong even for joy to accompany it, and somehow along with it, it dredged up all the pain and grief and anger she'd buried before.

Because…

_her songbird came back_


	15. Chapter 15

She wasn't there when he died. She wasn't just too late, she didn't watch it happen. There was no dramatic moment or last words or scream. There wasn't anything like that, because _they _weren't anything like that.

Getting to say goodbye wasn't the sort of luck they'd ever had.

She didn't get the chance to grieve or mourn because this was war, and stopping to grieve over fallen comrades meant more people died. She did her job. She helped save the shinobi world.

Her master collapsed at the end of the battle. She wasn't there to see it.

Her master didn't really last all that long after she woke up

She didn't get to say any goodbyes.

She thinks it should hurt more.

She thinks, in a situation like this, she really ought to be able to _feel something_.

She catches Kakashi in the corner of her vision sometimes when she goes to visit, though she doubts he's there to visit the ones she is. She doesn't question him, though.

Naruto and Sasuke become the kages of the joint shinobi alliance, and she…

Some poor fool decides she's as good as any other contender for Hokage (his name is Hashirama).

Kakashi visits her during lunches. They have tea. They don't usually talk. Neither of them usually want to.

People say the face carved into the mountainside is sorrowful, or that the sixth hokage was the Grieving Hokage, who cast her mournful grief across the village wherever her shadow fell, but that's just fantasy, because she doesn't feel any sorrow.

She doesn't feel anything at all.


End file.
